Share this on:

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Time to flip out! January 28 is National Blueberry Pancake Day.
There’s something special about a day that begins with pancakes. Their warmth and sweetness really sets the right tone. Historically, pancakes started out simply – no funky flavors or special toppings. Today, everything from bacon to bits of chocolate can be added to the batter.

Pancakes rose in popularity in Europe when Catholicism dominated the continent. During Lent, eating eggs and fat was forbidden, but back then, pancake recipes consisted only of milk and flour. In the Medieval era, pancakes became particularly popular on Shrove Tuesday and remain so to this day.

Fast forward to present day, and pancakes are made from a simple batter of eggs, milk, a leavening agent and fat. The leavening agent helps ensure you’ll have light and fluffy pancakes but a few simple tricks can aid in that area as well. Don’t over-mix your batter, it’ll result in tough and chewy pancakes. And, if you can, let your batter rest for a bit before hitting the griddle. Once you see bubbles form on the top side of your cooking pancake, you know it’s ready to turn.

Now for the blueberry part. These can be added to the batter before you start cooking, but you’ll likely get blue-ish pancakes which isn't especially appealing. Instead, add them onto an already cooking pancake before you flip it. This way you can space the blueberries out evenly.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for pancakes, just make sure they’re thawed and dry.